The Sri Lankan government blocked access to social media sites in the aftermath of the attacks that killed at least 207 people, in a bid to stop a spread of misinformation that could lead to further violence.
In a statement, Udaya R Seneviratne, from the office of the president, said the government had “taken steps to temporarily block all social media avenues until the investigations are concluded”. Officials said the eight explosions at churches and hotels, which injured more than 450 people, were suicide bomb attacks.
In a statement to the Guardian, a Facebook spokesperson said they were “aware of the government’s statement regarding the temporary blocking of social media platforms”.
The spokesperson added: “Teams from across Facebook have been working to support first responders and law enforcement as well as to identify and remove content which violates our standards.”
Roshni Fernando, a resident of Colombo, one of the cities targeted in the attacks, told the Guardian that Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp had been blocked since 2pm local time, though Twitter was still accessible.
Fernando said the spread of unverified information had already begun before the government brought in the social media block. “Prior to WhatsApp being shut down I was sent a document naming two suicide bombers,” she said.
Another Colombo resident, who asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of discussing religion in Sri Lanka, said: “It is absolutely a good idea to shut down social media. Over Whatsapp I have already been sent information which named Muslim men as the suicide bombers, despite the government not having officially named anyone at the time. Not shutting down social media could have led to people coordinating attacks and riots against Muslims.”
Government ministers were among those cautioning against people sharing information about the deadly attacks that had not been verified by the authorities.
The social media blackout is becoming a common occurrence in the region in the aftermath of violence. In March last year, the Sri Lankan government banned Facebook and other social media sites after reports of an attack on a Buddhist temple in Abathanna triggered deadly anti-Muslim riots across Kandy, in which hundreds of homes and businesses were destroyed by hardline Buddhist groups. In neighbouring India, WhatsApp has been blamed for fuelling a spate of murders and violence linked to rumours spread on the messaging app relating to alleged child kidnappers.
Sanjana Hattotuwa, a senior researcher at the Centre for Policy Alternatives, who is researching social media in Sri Lanka, confirmed he had already witnessed a mass spreading of misinformation on social media about the perpetrators of the Easter attacks.
“The government would have been guided to stem the flow of misinformation leading to kinetic violence on the ground,” he said. “What’s unclear is whether this helps.”
Hattotuwa added: “The situation is fluid and volatile. What we find is that communities are being targeted for the action of individuals. As it’s now in the public domain that these were suicide bombings, a particular community is going to get targeted.”
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